


Behave

by RomeoandAntoinette



Category: Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Established Relationship, F/M, Family Feels, Family Shenanigans, Fluff, Portraits
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-09-04
Packaged: 2019-07-06 16:16:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,386
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15889584
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RomeoandAntoinette/pseuds/RomeoandAntoinette
Summary: Corrin, her husband Jakob, and their two sons attempt to pose for a royal portrait. The task is easier said than done. [Corrin/Jakob] [Fluff]





	Behave

It started with a soft giggle. It was an inconspicuous and innocent enough sound. Everyone ignored it and moved on, figuring it was a fluke.

It was followed by a muffled snort, and then, a burst of laughter.

Both parents tried to keep it together and smother their smiles. Despite their efforts, they both also failed miserably.

The artist stopped sketching and allowed the wand of charcoal to fall on the canvas. It bounced in defeat on the springy material before rolling onto the floor.

“With all due respect,” the young painter declared as he rubbed his temple in frustration, not even caring about the smudge of dark powder left behind on his furrowed brow, “Can all of you stop laughing for just a moment?”

The cordiality of his words betrayed the clear tone of annoyance in his voice. The poor man sounded as if his patience was becoming more frayed by the second, and rightfully so.

The queen cleared her throat seriously and straightened her dress with a few, well-placed tugs.

“Sorry, sorry,” Corrin said, trying to not laugh again. She tapped her two sons on the shoulders sternly. She kept her voice calm but gentle as she said, “Boys, behave.”

Kana, on her left, nodded his head of wild hair in apparent agreement. The true test of his devotion was yet to come.

“Sorry, mother,” Dwyer, who was standing to her right, said. “Tell dad to stop sighing too. It’s too distracting.”

“You little liar,” Jakob replied with a little too much immediacy. While the exchange sounded bitter, both wore smirks that showcased the true teasing nature of the otherwise biting words.

“Boys,” Corrin repeated, a little more sternly the second time. “You as well, my love. All three of you, behave.”

“Sorry, mama.”

“Yes, mother.”

“Of course, my dear.”

It was difficult enough to pose for a royal portrait for hours. It was even harder to keep two children, one teen and the other a young boy, still for an extended period of time. The artist wasn’t even done sketching by the time the brothers started getting antsy. Kana started talking and Dwyer began teasing almost immediately. Dwyer always composed himself quickly, but Kana was harder to control. Trying to remain serious for too long was hard for him, as it would be for almost any child his age.

After a few seconds of trying to force a calm expression, another muffled giggle escaped Kana’s lips. As a result, Dwyer started to chuckle as well. The boy’s laughter was notoriously contagious. Even his family wasn’t immune to its charms.

The artist groaned audibly but kept sketching. It seemed he had given up trying to get the family to remain stoic.

Jakob sighed quietly before looking at his wife with a soft smile. “This will never end.”

“No, I suppose not,” she said with a hearty laugh. Her sanguine eyes lift to meet the disgruntled painter’s exhausted gaze. “Please, forgive us for our rudeness.”

Corrin and Jakob hadn’t been ones to insist on a royal painting. In fact, it had been Camilla who had commissioned an artist to travel all the way to Valla to paint the couple and their young children. It had been a belated wedding gift as well as a present honoring Corrin’s ascension as the Queen of Valla.

While Dwyer and Kana had both been exceptionally well-behaved at first, Dwyer had started to get obviously bored and Kana was getting more fidgety by the second.

Even Corrin had to admit that she was having a hard time staying still for such a long amount of time.

Jakob had paused the artist to stretch his arms more than once and Corrin found herself apologizing for yawning at least twice every five minutes. As the minutes dragged on, she’d also drifted closer to Jakob to lean onto his shoulder.

No wonder Kana and Dwyer were having such a hard time.

“We promise to pay to extra or your trouble,” Jakob barely managed to say. Most of the verbal complications stemmed from the fact that Kana had started poking Jakob’s sides in an attempt to get him to laugh. Not many people knew how tickling Jakob could be, but usually, Corrin was the only one to use the knowledge to her advantage. It seemed the young boy was already picking up some of his mother’s battle tactics and was taking every opportunity to elicit equal levels of joy from his father. It worked, and Jakob scooped up the boy in his arms with ease, making sure to tickle Kana’s sides as he lifted him. “You little rascal!”

The act made Kana roar with laughter.

Dwyer was visibly biting his lip to try and not laugh.

Despite her obvious delight in response to the adorable sight, Corrin still offered the artist yet another apologetic smile.

“Our apologies,” she said sympathetically. “My sister Camilla spoke highly of your skill, and here we are taking up your time. You have my sincerest apologies.”

“It’s fine,” the artist groaned. “Honestly, it’s not truly a hindrance to me. I can keep going, but it might not be the most…traditional portrait.”

Surprisingly, Corrin wasn’t the first to express an opinion at the initially outlandish idea.

“That’s not a bother for me,” Jakob replied with surprising promptness. “We’ll stay pay you extra for your troubles though, of course. You deserve to be compensated extra for all this, but I’m intrigued by the prospect of something less traditional.”

“Are you?” the artist asked, a little flicker of excitement returning to his eye. Perhaps it had been the first time a noble had proposed such an entertaining idea. “I wasn’t expecting such an admission, but truthfully, it sounds like an interesting endeavor. That is, as long as that’s what the Queen desires as well.”

On cue, Jakob averted his attention back to his wife yet again. “Well, what do you think? Shall we forgo this straight-backed, pursed-lipped nonsense?”

Corrin turned her head to meet Jakob’s face with a stunned expression. Mere moments later, surprise melted into pleasure as she asked him, “Do you mean that?”

His answer to her inquiry was threefold. First, he nodded softly before reaching out to her. Instead of cupping her cheek, like he usually did when he went to kiss her, his hand lifted to her hair. One lock was trying to bounce free from her tight updo.

With Jakob’s assistance, the wave bounced free from its binds and draped down her shoulder.

Then, he placed a chaste kiss on her lips that made Dwyer groan and Kana cover his eyes with squealing embarrassment.

“You’ll have to forgive my parents,” Dwyer told the artist with an exhausted, half-lidded stare. “They haven’t kissed for a couple hours, after all.”

Both parents were too distracted to be bothered by their son’s not-so-sarcastic comment.

Corrin smiled into the kiss and lifted a gloved hand to the base of his neck, keeping him close for a few more blissful moments.

When the kiss ended, her eyes were still a little dazed.

“You mean it?” she asked in a light whisper.

“I do,” Jakob replied, stealing her hand into his as squeezing it. “I still think we should pay the poor man extra but, truth be told, I don’t much care if our portrait is a traditional rendering. Both of our lives have revolved around changing tradition. Why should we now start bending to royal protocol?”

It didn’t take but a moment of musing for Corrin to enthusiastically bob her head in agreement.

“Won’t Aunt Camilla get mad?” Dwyer asked astutely.

The artist was the first to pipe up and answer.

“Lady Camilla gave me orders to paint the portrait however the Queen desired,” he said from behind his broad canvas. He’d already taken a cloth to rub out the existing charcoal outline.

Corrin mused for the matter for only a moment before nodding. She shifted her posture and leaned closer to her husband, who still held Kana securely in his arms. Her other arm drifted to Dwyer’s shoulder, pulling him close. The teen didn’t seem to object to being pulled closer if the small smile on his face was anything to go by.

“Shall I?” the artist asked.

One more kiss later, the Queen nodded her head in joyful affirmation.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was also previously posted on my Tumblr (romeo-and-antoinette.)
> 
> I used to sketch charcoal portraits in college, but I never painted them. I did have to deal with giggly models though, which I never minded because I'm...not too serious of a person. Other artists though? Oof. Frustrated sighs were a norm.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this tiny fic! I'll be back soon with more.


End file.
